Sparton's Customers Performance

United States Navy contracts allow Sparton to submit performance based billings, which are then applied against inventories purchased and manufacturing costs incurred by the Company throughout its performance under these contracts. Inventories were reduced by performance based payments from the U.S. Navy for costs incurred related to long-term contracts.

The majority of Sparton's MDS segment customers are in highly regulated industries where strict adherence to regulations such as ITAR, regulations issued by the FDA, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and similar foreign jurisdiction regulations such as the European Union RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) is necessary. Non-compliance risks range from variance notifications to production/shipping prevention depending upon the agency and form of non-compliance. These requirements are highly technical in nature and require strict adherence and documentation related to operational processes. Sparton's quality system provides us the ability to service such markets, differentiating Sparton from some potential competitors which lack such systems.